Securing Wood Posts to a GeoStone Retaining Wall

by Richard
(AL)

I have been going over your website thinking this is exactly what I need for my project. I hope so.

In my backyard, I have a patio made with paver stone that is surrounded by a retaining wall. The retaining wall is made of Geostone. It is 18" wide, 12" deep concrete material. The top layer is
cap blocks that are about 6" deep.

Because the retaining wall is several feet high in some areas, and I have small children, I need a railing for this area.

I am most interested in your post anchors, but am also interested in your railings.

I am hoping to be able to attach your anchors to the cap blocks of the retaining wall, then from there, build a railing.

Do you have any experience attaching your Titan Post Anchor product to cap blocks? I would also be interested in your advice on building a railing or somewhere to order pre made railings in my area.

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May 14, 2010
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Retaing wall thoughts
by: Editor - Rich Bergman

There should not be a problem securing the post anchors to the retaining wall. It is simply a matter of using concrete screws of which there are several to choose from. We sell GRK Fasteners which are among the very best available but there are also Tapcons which you may find in some of the big box stores.

If your cap stones are 18" wide you have plenty of room to work with and if they are 6" thick they are more than thick enough.

The two kinds of concrete fasteners we have are a 2-1/4" screw and a 3-1/2" screw. If you use the 2-1/4" screws I would recommend using eight per anchor and only 4 of the 3-1/2" screws per anchor.

The holding power is immense so that will not be your weakest link.

I guess you will have to choose whether you want to use a 6x6 post or a 4x4 post. The 6x6 post is more robust looking. A nice looking an high performing configuration is a 6x6 post with two or three 4x4 posts in between and a continuous top rail capping the 4x4 posts with the 6x6 post protruding above with post caps. But that is your call. For a long straight rail though, you want it to be very firm.

The 6x6 anchor is rated to an average load to failure of 503 lbs on a 42" pine post unsupported ie. a single post by itself, not built into a railing. So that is your lowest number.

The 4x4 is rated to an average load to failure of 336 lbs for a 42" single pine post.

The only thing I would add is that the dynamics change a bit if you are looking at a long straight run by itself without any directional changes. We do have a post brace that is rated to take a single 4x4 post from 336 lbs to 500 lbs. You can use these intermittently as you prefer along a long straight section of railing also.

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